Ginny Simms (May 13, 1913 – April 4, 1994; also known as Virginia E. Eastvold) was an American popular singer and film actress. She labeled with Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford and others.Born in San Antonio, Texas, she sang with big bands and worked as MGM contract player film actress. She appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1951, when she retired. She was married three times, to Hyatt Hotels founder Hyatt von Dehn from 1945 to 1951, to Bob Calhoun from 1951 to 1952, and to Don Eastvold from June 22, 1962 until her death on April 4, 1994. She originally considered studying to become a concert pianist, but enrolled instead at Fresno State Teachers College. While there, she began performing in campus productions, singing with sorority sisters and even forming a popular campus vocal trio. Shortly afterward, she struck out on her own to establish a solo singing career and by 1932, she had her own program on a local radio station. Also in 1932, she became band vocalist for the Tom Gerun band in San Francisco, working together with other vocalists including a young Tony Martin and Woody Herman. She joined the Kay Kyser Orchestra in 1938, where she received her first national exposure appearing on radio shows and in films with Kyser. She made her first movie with Kyser and Lucille Ball, That’s Right You’re Wrong (1939). She nearly married Kyser but left his orchestra in 1941 to do her own radio show. She starred in the movies Here We Go Again with Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, and Fibber McGee & Molly (1942), Hit the Ice with Abbott & Costello (1943), as Helen Hoyt in Broadway Rhythm with George Murphy (1944), and as Carole Hill in Cole Porter’s Night and Day (1946) with Cary Grant and Alexis Smith. In 1951, Simms hosted a local television show on Los Angeles Channel 11, KTTV, which featured dance bands and talent from army, navy, marine, and air force bases around Southern California.In 1993, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.She died in 1994 in Palm Springs, aged 80, and is interred in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6408 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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Was romantically involved with Kay Kyser at one point but they eventually broke up. She left the band and was replaced by Georgia Carroll, who subsequently became Mrs. Kay Kyser.
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She earned distinction during WWII and was given several citations. She had a B-17 Flying Fortress named after her.
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Had two sons from her first marriage to Hyatt von Dehn, David and Conrad.
Her first son, David Martin Dehn, was born in 1946.
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Buried at Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, USA
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Frequent escort of MGM chief Louis B. Mayer after his divorce.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Disc Jockey
1951
Vickie Peters
Night and Day
1946
Carole Hill
Screen Snapshots Series 25, No. 2: Radio Shows
1945
Short
Ginny Simms - Kay Kyser Radio Show
Shady Lady
1945
Leonora Lee Appleby
Broadway Rhythm
1944
Helen Hoyt
G.I. Journal
1944
Short
Ginny Simms
Hit the Ice
1943
Marcia Manning
Seven Days' Leave
1942
Ginny Simms
Here We Go Again
1942
Jean Gildersleeve
Playmates
1941
Ginny Simms - Band Singer
You'll Find Out
1940
Ginny Simms
That's Right - You're Wrong
1939
Ginny Simms - Band Singer
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Night and Day
1946
performer: "I Get a Kick out of You" 1934, "I Wonder What's Become of Sally" 1924, "What Is This Thing Called Love?" 1929, "I've Got You Under My Skin" 1936, "Just One of Those Things" 1935, "You're the Top" 1934 - uncredited
Broadway Rhythm
1944
performer: "All The Things You Are", "Amor", "Who's Who?"
Hit the Ice
1943
performer: "Happiness Bound" 1943, "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water" 1943, "I'd Like to Set You to Music" 1943, "The Slap Polka" 1943
Seven Days' Leave
1942
performer: "Can't Get Out of This Mood" 1942
Here We Go Again
1942
performer: "Until I Live Again" 1942
Playmates
1941
performer: "How Long Did I Dream" 1941, "Thank Your Lucky Stars and Stripes" 1941, "Romeo Smith and Juliet Jones" 1941, "Humpty Dumpty Heart" 1941, "Que Chica" 1941
You'll Find Out
1940
performer: "I'd Know You Anywhere" 1940, "Like the Fella Once Said" 1940, "I've Got a One Track Mind" 1940 - uncredited
That's Right - You're Wrong
1939
performer: "The Little Red Fox N'Ya N'Ya You Can't Catch Me" 1939, "Fit to Be Tied" 1939, "The Answer Is Love" 1939, "Happy Birthday to Love" 1939, "Chatterbox" 1939
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Screen Snapshots Series 34, No. 6: Hollywood Shower of Stars